Sorry for not being around yesterday. Was headaachy and weak as the result of staying up all night reading. I'm definitely too old for that. Yesterday was gray and gloomy.

Today is sunny, but still a black day. Emma and Esme have gone away. Dad's holding up well, though he's obviously very sad. Sis seems OK, but as she herself opined, she's probably in shock. She said it was very strange to come home and not have Emmy waiting for her. That is going to be a terribly difficult adjustment, and probably a long one. Please send good vibe, especially for Dad and Sis.

When Dad said we'll get the ashes in about two weeks, he added that this will make burial easier. So, burial is the program. Glad that's settled.

Think I'm going to turn off the computer and try to lose myself in my book, Stephen King's 11,22, 63. It is an absorbing one, so it might work.

Interesting suggestion by Robert Reich in today's HuffPost: click>. Essentially, that except for an immediate tax increase for the wealthy the rest of the debt reduction package should be postponed until some trigger -- e.g., two consecutive quarters of unemployment below 6% -- show that the economy has recovered.

I also like his suggestion that, once the trigger is reached, there should be across-the-board tax increases. IMO the Bush tax cuts have utterly failed to achieve their purposes (including propping up the stock market) and should be rescinded in toto